Babies are routinely transported from one location to another in baby seats. Vehicle seats, generically referred to as car seats, are used to protect babies while riding in automobiles, large and small trucks, recreational vehicles, and aircraft, and other such transportation devices.
Babies are placed in automatic swings and gliders for relaxation and entertainment. Swings differ from gliders in that swings traverse an arc while gliders traverse a level plane. Seats used with automatic swings and gliders are similar to vehicle and baby seats.
Towels and blankets are often placed over a baby or vehicle seat to protect the occupant from elements such as sun, rain, and snow. This practice is common when babies are hand-carried out-of-doors while seated in a carrier. Covering a seated baby with a towel or blanket may reduce the baby's ventilation, visibility, and comfort. Many baby seats now offer as standard equipment or as an option a half domed sun shade that provides protection from the sun.
Child care product suppliers have addressed the need for sun shades for many years. More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,999 to Thompson and Thompson (1994) addresses protection against sun for a baby car seat; however, the Thompsons' patented apparatus may be considered impractical and consists of a complex support structure that positions a sun shade between the sun and the baby. In a moving vehicle, the Thompsons' apparatus may need continuous adjustment to keep the sun shade positioned between the seated baby and the sun. U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,231 to Smith (1991) discloses a sunshade apparatus that may require a seat equipped with a U-shaped handle. However, the Smith patent appears to only addresses sun protection, and when installed on the seat, the sunshade partially blocks the grip area of the handle. Partial blocking of the handle does not appear to allow for the sunshade's use on several type handle equipped automatic swing and glider seats. Several manufacturers' seat and carrier designs allow the handle to be folded below the seat to vary the seat's angle relative to a supporting surface. When a handle is used below the seat, a handle attachment of a sunshade or cover is not convenient. U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,883 to Mayo (1990) discloses a sunshade apparatus that addresses protection against sun for a seated baby by providing a wrap around channel of photochromic material mounted between the baby and the sun. The Mayo apparatus appears complex, bulky, and seems to address only sun protection.
While many present day configurations have emphasized the shading from the sun, few have appreciated the overall need to shield from inclement weather while allowing airflow through side mesh vents. Furthermore, by providing side mesh vents, increased visibility of the occupant is enhanced. Prior to the present invention, no invention appears to have combined the overall protection from inclement weather while providing side ventilation. Furthermore, prior to the present invention, no solution offered a specifically enhanced foot shield to shield the feet of an occupant from biting or stinging insects. Apparently, it has not been considered that the feet of a typical occupant touch the inside surface of the cover such that a proboscis of a mosquito or other insects could be inserted through the cover to actually sting or bite the occupant. Furthermore, until the present invention, it was simply not considered that the location for the attachment of the hood could actually enhance the versatility of the protective cover. Also, prior to the present invention, it was not considered that the portability and flexibility of the protective cover could be contained within an integral restraining element such that the user of the protective cover could carry the cover in a variety of positions and places. While the elements and the materials have long been available and certainly the long felt unsatisfied need existed, apparently the various features have simply not been appreciated. Those skilled in the art have appreciated that the problem existed, but simply directed their efforts away from the focuses of the present invention. While they made substantial attempts, in attempting to fulfill the need, they failed to understand the various intricate problems and particularly with combining the features into the particular invention. As discussed above, many of the protective covers taught away from the direction of the present invention in that they focused on avoiding direct sunlight via shades or providing a cover that essentially duplicated the function of the typical towel that is draped over a seat.
Thus, until the present invention, there remained a need for a collapsible, reducible state protective cover that could be interchangeably affixed to various baby seats that could provide coverage in inclement weather as well as adequate ventilation even while the inclement weather hood covered the protective cover. Likewise, there existed a need for a versatile hood that could be removably attached in a variety of positions and included a protective foot shield that would protect an occupant from stings that could occur through a mesh where parts of the body touched the mesh.